Super Vamp

Last weekend (Memorial Day weekend) was the 2010 Phoenix Comicon. This was by far the largest one to date with over 14,000 attendees, over double what it was last year. The folks that put this con together really stepped it up and I was amazed at how professional and polite all the staff and volunteers were.  My body and brain have still not recuperated from all the work and visual stimulation it had to soak up, but I was extrememely honored to have been a part of it.

A quick shout out to all of my friends and fellow Tiny Army member that were there, Daniel Bradford and Thomas Hall of BlackList Studios (my boothmates) were so incredibly helpful and rocked their Robot 13 comics and prints, and their King! t-shirts were a hot commodity. If you haven’t seen their work, do yourself a favor and check it out. R-13 is getting tons of positive, well-deserved reviews.

Writer and fellow Tiny Army soldier, Glen Curren deserves a BIG thank you for all the help he gave me in our booth. Glen just launched a new comic, Major Mediocrity which is NOT mediocre. This guys is hilarious and his sense of humor will shine in this strip about a not-so-super-superhero. Not for children though, so avert your eyes, young ones (and those of you easily offended). You can also read his ramblings at http://digresser.com/.

Also, Denny Ricelli who does the web comic Lollygaggin’ Adventures was there with a copy of his book ”Get That Chicken.” Denny has a great, original way of designing his characters in an almost graffitti-style, but with much more class and refinement.

Eric Mengel, creator of Ocho was also there with his beautiful Book, “Ocho, Kill The Blue Man.” I got a copy of this and am enjoying it very much! I love that his character, although being an alien, lives in Tempe, Arizona, amongst bratty, drunk college students and stinky lake water.

Of course, I can’t forget the hilarious duo of Modern Mythology press, Dave Baker and Eric Esquivel as they sold out of their books (before I could get one!!) and pressed the “babygirls” to check out the picture of them riding on a unicorn. These young guys are going places and will get there cracking jokes and offending the humorless all along the way.

Lastly, I would like to comment about the wonderful booth and products of Steamcrow. Headed by Daniel Davis (creator of the one-of-a-kind webcomic, Monster Commute, master of the Tiny Army group and basically the one all of us Arizona artist look up to) who has a unique style of illustration and a wide array of products to choose from. His booth was the envy of every exhibitor there and will no doubt make all the rest of us step it up for next year.

But MY hero of the Con was Daniel Davis’ wife, Dawna Davis. I met her about 2 years ago and I liked her immediately. I am convinced she is the reason the saying “Behind every great man is a great woman” was coined. I know Daniel Davis would agree with me as he always gives her great kudos and it is apparent that they are a team. But I wanted to highlight her because, in my opinion, she never gets enough press. On top of helping out Daniel and manning the booth, Dawna is a passionate art educator, photographer, expert button maker and very accomplished seamstress. She makes these incredible furry Monster Bags that are just adorable and unlike many handmade products, is of the highest quality. Someday I will be able to afford one, too! She had also told me about a stuffed cat she made once that I am dying to see. Apparently you can see into the cat’s stomach via a clear plastic sheet sewn in. How can you not love a woman that would sew a stuffed gutted cat?! And all the while, Dawna has a beautiful attitude and witty sense of humor. All this in one extremely cool woman.